Our Mission

Canopy Northwest Arkansas is working to support refugees who are resettling in our community.

We believe that Northwest Arkansas, with its diverse community, rapid economic growth, and excellent educational institutions, is an ideal location for refugees seeking to build a new life. We are inviting on our community to recognize our shared humanity by showing compassion and care for those seeking refuge in Northwest Arkansas. We seek to engage our community by connecting organizations, businesses, congregations, and individuals to all refugees in need of assistance.

Canopy NWA's Work

Resettlement Assistance Support

Education & Job Training

Community Relationships

As a resettlement center, it is up to Canopy to provide them with everything they need to build a new life. They need a place to live, schools for their kids, language classes, doctors, lawyers, counselors, and babysitters.

Canopy will help refugees learn English, put together a resume, evaluate their degree, and prepare for the American workforce. Canopy will also provide training on the interview process as well as key cultural features of the American work ethic.

Community is the foundation of what makes a place to live a home. Without a strong sense of connection to the world around them, refugees cannot build a new life here.

Central American Minors

If you are a parent with legal status here in the US and you have a child at risk of gang violence back home in El Salvador, Guatemala or Honduras, then Canopy may be able to help you apply to bring your child to the US as a refugee.

What does it mean to be a Refugee?

There’s a lot of talk about refugees out there, some of it accurate, some of it not. Refugee? Migrant? Displaced person? What exactly is a refugee? Or, read this brief explanation from the UNHCR.

A refugee is a person who is unable or unwilling to return to his or her home country because of a “well-founded fear of persecution” due to race, membership in a particular social group, political opinion, religion, or national origin.

This definition is based on the United Nations 1951 Convention and 1967 Protocols relating to the Status of Refugees, which the United States became a party to in 1968. Following the Vietnam War and the country’s experience resettling Indochinese refugees, Congress passed the Refugee Act of 1980, which incorporated the Convention’s definition into U.S. law and provides the legal basis for today’s U.S. Refugee Admissions Program (USRAP). (Source: American Immigration Council)

There are many ways to support refugee families as they arrive in Northwest Arkansas

Canopy’s mission is to provide a robust network of support for refugees resettling in Northwest Arkansas. Our vision is to not only meet their basic needs, but to equip them with the tools to thrive as active members of the NWA community.

Sponsor a Refugee Family

Co-sponsors agree to visit the family regularly, have them over for meals, invite them to community events, take them on outings around town, and above all, be a friend to them.

Volunteer with Canopy NWA

If you or your family are looking for tangible ways to help in the refugee crisis, but cannot commit to full co-sponsorship, please check out our full list of Volunteer Opportunities.

Advocate for Refugees

Learn what defines a refugee, how they come to the US and how the US keeps its citizens safe throughout that process. Then, start spreading this information wherever you can.

Financially Support Canopy

Canopy is a public-private partnership. We receive limited state and federal funds to support our work, so we can only exist with the support of our generous community.